The lyrics to Taylor Swift’s 2014 hit “Shake It Off” aren’t exciting enough for U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald,

“In order for such short phrases to be protected under the Copyright Act, they must be more creative than the lyrics at issue here.”

SNAP.

Swift was being sued by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler for allegedly stealing the inspiration for ‘Shake it Off’ from their song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ performed by 3LW.

Do the lyrics “players, they gonna play, and haters they gonna hate” sound familiar? This song dates back to 2001, by the way…

The lawsuit did not involve the rhythm or any other musical elements between the two tracks, just the lyrical content which proved unsubstantial in the Judge’s eyes. To summarize: the Judge felt that, by now, the ‘players gonna play’ thing is pretty tired. We’ve heard it all before. It’s not a unique phrase.

BUT…

The door has been left open for Hall and Butler to file an appeal.

Hall has worked with Justin Bieber and Maroon 5 while Butler’s resume lists the Backstreet Boys and Luther Vandross.